Improvement in cotton-gins



S. ELLIOTT.

Corn Sheller.

Patented om. 9, 1855.

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N. PUERS Mouw. WuhilllhlLI-t Fries.

H. H. FULTZ, OF LEXINGTON, MISSISSIPPI.

IMPROVEMENT IN COTTON-GINS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 13,61!t l. datedOctober 9, 1S55.

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, H. H. FULTZ, of Lexington, in the county of Holmesand State of Mississippi, have invented a new and useful Improvement inCotton-Girls; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to theannexed drawings, making a part of this specication, in which- Figure lis a transverse vertical section 'of my improvement. Fig. 2 is a frontView of the same, the seed-board being removed.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the twofigures.

The nature of my invention consists in giving the cotton,which is placedupon the usual breast within the feed-box and directly ov'er the saws, aspiral motion by means of spiral plates or by any other proper device,so that the cotton will pass from one end ofthe feedbox to the other,and cause a fresh surface of cotton to be presented to the action of thesaws as it passes along, thereby preventing the staple or fibers of thecotton from being cut by the saws, and at the same time causing thecotton to be perfectly ginned, or deprived of the seed and motes, anddischarged from the machine in separate parts, .according to itsquality.

To enable others skilled in the art to fully understand and construct myinvention, Iwill proceed to describe it.

A represents the sawshaft o'n which the saws B are placed, and Crepresents the breast, betweenthe ribs a of which the saws rotate. D isthe seed-board, which is secured between side pieces, a ai', of a frame,E, to which the breast C is attached.

The above parts are of the usual construction, and therefore do notrequire a more minute description. The frame E of the breast O issecured by hinges b b to the frame F of the gin, so that the breast maybe raised or lowered to allow the saws to project therequisite distancebetween the ribs'a.

To the upper part of the frame E and between the ribs a of the breastthe lower ends of oblique or spiral plates c are fitted. These platesare of curved form, as shown clearly in Fig. l, and the back edges arefitted or made to correspond in form to the upper curved cross-piece ofthe frame E. The upper ends of the plates c are iitteddn a bar, G, theends of which are of cylindrical form and pass through the side pieces,c a, of the frame E. The ends of the bar G have screw-threads cut onthem, on which thumb-nuts d d are fitted, and by operating said nutsmore or less obliquity may be given the plates, if desired.

The cotton to be ginned is placed in the feedbox, which is formed by thesecd-board D, side pieces, a cd, and breast C. The cotton is placed atone end of the feed-box, (indicated by H, Fig. 2.) Motion being giventhe sawshaft A, the cotton will be turned within the feed-box by theaction of the saws B, and the oblique or spiral plates c will feed ormove the cotton from the end H toward the opposite end of the feed-box,as indicated by the red arrow. By this means a fresh surface of cotton:is presented to the action of the saws as the cotton is moved alongwithin the feed-box. The long staple or iiber is taken out by the sawsat the part H of the box, the medium sized at the center, and the shortiiber at the end opposite to the end H. The seed and hulls pass outunderneath the breast or seed board I) at the end toward which thecotton passes.

It will be seen by giving the cott'on thc spiral or twisting feed-motionwithin the feedbox, that the staple or fiber of the cotton will not becut by the saws, because the saws do not act continually upon one partof the cotton, for that is constantly turning and passes along over thewhole series of saws. Oonsequently the long fiber is taken out by thesaws at the feed end of the feed-box, (the part H,) and is subjected tothe action of the saws for ashort period of time only. The mediun'rsizedfiber is taken out at about the center of the box, and the short at theend opposite to the end H. At this end of the box the seed will bestripped of the short fiber or fuzz, and the saws B may be placed nearertogether at this point, as shown in Fig. 2.' The seed and hulls willalso pass out underneath the seed-board at this part of the box, asuitable opening being made for that purpose. The seed and hulls willnot be acted upon by the saws at the part H ofthe box, but will passwith the cotton toward the opposite end of the feed-box, and as thefibers get shorter, and as the quantity of cotton gets gradually less inbulk at this end of the feed-box, the seeds are stripped of their fuzzand the seed and hulls pass out

